EverQuest II - Dear Devs Part Three

Hello devs and thanks for taking the time to answer some of the millions of letters I'm sure you're getting. My questions is a simple one:

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Is there a way to make it so that the Necromancer class can choose between the male and female versions of the sorcerer pet spider? I'd really like to have that option and not be stuck with the gender based one. Thank you very much for your time.

Arachia Ter'Syon
79 Necromancer
Crushbone
Bane

Arachia,

I don’t think we’ve ever given that any consideration before. I’ll have to bring it up as a concept to figure out how difficult it would be to do. It would certainly require some extensive work, just as an exercise. We’d have to add an additional field to the database, and then create the system by which you would choose the gender of the pet, which would also drive an additional UI screen. We’d need to wrap it all up and ensure that there aren’t any conflicts in code about that, either. It’s probably doable, but we’d have to evaluate how long it would take and where it would fit in the big list of priorities. Interesting thought!

Dear Developers of EverQuest II,

I write to you in regards of a growing concern I have with the older content of EverQuest II. It has come to my attention that with the current expansions that have been added to the game (while I feel they have made significant improvements) they have taken away from the original content of the game. I had asked this question before, but the response I was given was a little bit hazy. So I ask, "Will we see any live updates that bring the old world content up to par with the new world content in the near future?" Examples of this can be found as drops in the Lair of the Necromancer off of Nektulous Forest. The items that drop there are almost worse than level 1 Timorous Deep items. There are a lot of quests in the old world zones now that people feel are only worth the AA's. I know you are all busy enough as it is so I was just curious as to what the answer on this was.

Thanks

I think I covered this in a previous answer, but probably not in enough detail. Yes, we’re constantly looking at data we collect to compare usage, reward status, and a bunch of other statistics regarding to all content, both “new” and “old” in the game. And we’ve discussed a few times where we can fit time to update the “old” content more in line with the “new”, but sometimes it is just a matter of how many resources you have, what the majority of the population is playing at in terms of levels and areas, which drives our decisions on what each item gets in terms of priority. I assure you that this is a topic that comes up relatively often, and yet somehow we haven’t gotten to it yet. We still want to do it, but it has to come after some of the other things that are on our plates. I know we’d all love there to be infinite time and infinite resources, but we do occasionally have to put aside work, and go home to recharge the batteries. And I’m loathe to assign a time frame to any of this kind of “rework”, as we often have new priorities take prominence that we may not have anticipated. You’d be surprised at how often we think we’re heading down a path to complete something, and then there’s an issue in the game that takes ultimate priority and derails us. It’s a constant challenge for us to keep focused on the things that need attention urgently, without forgetting the less urgent items that remain on our huge list of stuff we want to do.

Dear Devs,

[Why have] heroic opportunities been forgotten? I feel that this is an under-utilized system by all! I remember when they used to have a 30 second fill time, and people used to use them. Now with precision casting orders people don’t see the use in them. I think it’s kind of the group-binding additive that's missing from the game. There’s no real reason to group together except to receive buffs that [remain] until you die. There needs to be a bit more teamwork involved, not just hack-slash-heal.

Is there any chance of [adding] some new ones? There are a few combinations of classes that have not been addressed.

Thanks,
Frozen

Frozen,

I think you’ll find that we haven’t forgotten Heroic Opportunities. There are a lot of ideas, both internally and externally, on how we can improve and expand the system, and we’re giving a lot of consideration as to what the best path will be. I’m sure you’ll see the fruits of our efforts in an upcoming release!

And I wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for participating, both in this particular letter, but also in the community around EverQuest II. We do care about your concerns, and are trying to listen in all sorts of ways, and implement the ideas that we feel best meet your needs for engaging and exciting gameplay. The enjoyment we receive out of making all the content you have seen, and will see in the future, is due to the enjoyment you all get out of playing, talking, and even living EverQuest II. Thanks for the continued support!